Airflow guide structure and manufacture thereof

ABSTRACT

An airflow guide structure and manufacture thereof is used to allow components of an airflow guide are cut by molds in a factory to form thin plates in each of which has a plurality of bendable lines, and transported into a mainframe assembly plant to store therein. Each component of the airflow guide is folded into a three-dimensional type at a production line when a mainframe wants to be assembled. Because each component of the airflow guide is a thin plate and lighter in weight, it can be stacked together with another component before a three-dimensional cover body is assembled. Therefore, the space is saved and the transportation and storage are more convenient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an airflow guide for a cooler in amainframe of a computer or server, and more particularly to a airflowguide for a cooler of a central processing unit.

2. Description of Related Art

A central processing unit (CPU) is one of main elements for dissipatingheat in a computer or server. An airflow guide is generally used to leadthe heat dissipated from the CPU to a fan opening of a housing or powersupply connected with a fan to expel it out of the housing of thecomputer so as to elevate the efficiency of heat dissipation. Theapplicant of the present invention has many patents concerning anairflow guide including Taiwan Patent No. 369,180, No. 387,578 and No.511,872. In addition, Taiwan Patent No. 516,665 discloses a “Fan andHood Arrangement”, in which a fixed top nut of a mounting shell isaccepted in an elongated slot of a hood. Whereby, the nut can be takenas a fulcrum for the hood to move to and fro or for the opening of thehood to rotate rightward or leftward.

Every known airflow guide mentioned above has its merit. But, every kindof the airflow guide is a fixed structure and has a fixed specification.When the specification of a cooler of a CPU and the relative positionbetween the cooler of a CPU and the outlet of the airflow guide isslightly changed, another set of airflow guide with differentspecification must be reproduced to meet the requirement. As a result,the production cost of the baffle covering is increased, inventory andoccupation space of baffle coverings with different specification arealso increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to provide an airflow guidestructure, in which the shape and the dimension of a guide body can beflexibly adjusted.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an airflow guidestructure, being able to be manufactured easily and to reduce theproduction cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an airflowguide structure, having a lighter weight, a smaller dimension beforeassembling and being convenient on transportation and storage.

The components of an airflow guide according to the present inventionare cut by molds in a factory to form thin plates in each of which has aplurality of bendable lines and transported into a mainframe assemblyplant to store therein. Each component of the airflow guide is foldedinto a three-dimensional type at a production line when a mainframewants to be assembled. Because each component of the airflow guide is athin plate and lighter in weight, it can be stacked together withanother component before a three-dimensional cover body is assembled.Therefore, the space is saved and the transportation and storage aremore convenient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view, showing thin plate type components of anairflow guide of a first preferred embodiment according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view, showing components of an airflow guide thatare folded to be three-dimensional shapes before assembling according toa first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional schematic view, showing an airflow guideconnected to a power supply according to a first preferred embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view, showing an airflow guide of a firstpreferred embodiment according to the present invention in a usagestate;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view, showing an airflow guide of a firstpreferred embodiment according to the present invention in another usagestate;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view, showing an airflow guide of a secondpreferred embodiment according to the present invention in a usagestate.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view, showing thin plate type components of anairflow guide of a third preferred embodiment according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view, showing components of an airflow guidefolded to be three-dimensional shapes before assembling according to athird preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is amplified schematic view, showing a usage state and apart ofbendable lines of a fourth embodiment according to the presentinvention; and

FIG. 10 is a flow chart, showing manufacturing steps of an airflow guideaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIG. 1 and 2. An airflow guide of a first preferredembodiment comprises a plurality of plate bodies such as a master plate10, a secondary plate 20 and two reinforced plates 31 and 32. The masterplate 10 is formed by cutting a thin plate with a cutting mold and has aplurality of bendable lines. A front plate 11, two side plates 12, 13and two connecting plates 14, 15 can be differentiated by bending themaster plate 10 along the bendable lines, i.e. the two side plates 12and 13 are bent at the two sides of the front plate 11 and extendedunder the two sides of the front plate 11 to form a guide body with thefront plate 11 at the upper side and the side plates 12 and 13 at thetwo sides. Bendable lines 111 and 112 connected between the front plate11 and the two side plates 12 and 13 are respectively inclined towardthe inner sides of the front plates 11. Therefore, the distances betweenthe side plates 12 and 13 are formed to be wider at the front andshorter at the rear. Another bendable line 113 is further disposed atthe front plate 11 so as to allow a front end 114 of the front plate 11to bend upward or downward around the bendable line 113, which is takenas a fulcrum. Two connecting plates 14 and 15 are respectively bent tothe front ends of the two side plates 12 and 13. Cutting lines 115, 121,122, 131 and 132 that are penetrated through the plate bodies of thefront plate 11 and the two side plates 12 and 13 are respectivelydisposed at these plates. The two ends of the two reinforced plates 31and 32 are respectively passed through the cutting lines 121, 122, 131and 132 of the two side plates 12 and 13 to combine to the middle placeof the two side plates 12 and 13 to strengthen the side plates 12 and13. The secondary plate 20 is also made by cutting a thin plate with acutting mold and has a plurality of bendable lines. A upper plate 21 andtwo fender plates 22 and 23 can be differentiated and bent out along thebendable lines. The two fender plates 22 and 23 to bend downward fromthe two sides of the upper plate 21 to allow limiting the movement rangeof the two side plates 12 and 13. A tenon 211 is disposed at the middleplace of the front end of the upper plate 21 and a through groove 212 isdisposed at the rear end thereof.

Please refer to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The components of an airflow guideaccording to the present invention are cut by molds in a factory to formthin plates in each of which has a plurality of bendable lines, aretransported in a mainframe assembly plant to store therein. Eachcomponent of the airflow guide is folded into a three-dimensional typeat a production line when a mainframe wants to be assembled, namely, themaster plate 10 and the secondary plate 20 is bent to three-dimensionaltypes and the two reinforced plates 31 and 32 are respectively connectedto the two side plates 12 and 13. The tenon 211 of the upper plate 21 ispassed through the cutting line 115 to hook up the front plate 11 viathe upper side of the front plate 11 so as to allow the upper plate 21to combine with the front plate 11 and to cover on the two side plates12 and 13 to form a cover. The front plate 11 according to the presentinvention is connected to the upper end of a housing 40 and fixed with areusable twin adhesive 41. The two connecting plates 14 and 15 arerespectively engaged in two long grooves 42 and 43 corresponding to thehousing 40 to allow the master plate 10 to be connected with the housing40 and to be covered at the outside of an exhaust exit 401. As FIG. 3shows, the housing 40 connected with the airflow guide of the presentpreferred embodiment is a housing of a power supply connected with afan, but it can also be used to connect with housings of other parts onthe computer mainframe.

Please refer to FIG. 4. The cover assembled by the front plate 11, theupper plate 21 and the two side plates 12 and 13 can be used to coverthe outside of a CPU heat sink 50. The through groove 212 can be used toallow a projection portion 51 of the CPU heat sink 50 to pass through.The CPU heat sink 50 can be touched flexibly owing to the flexibility ofthe upper plate 21 and the two side plates 12 and 13. Heat dissipatedfrom the CPU heat sink 50 is guided by the cover and expelled out of acomputer housing from the exhaust exit 401 of the housing 40 so as notto be diffused around the outside of the CPU heat sink 50.

Please refer to FIG. 5. The two side plates 12 and 13 can be bent alongthe bendable lines to two flank sides respectively. The side plates canbe operated in coordination with different scales of CPU heat sinks 50to adjust the distance between the side plates owing to the flexibilityof their own or the locations of the CPU sinks 50, for example, when itis more close to the right side as FIG. 5 shows, the side plates can beadjusted to right or left flexibly. Therefore, a set of airflow guidecan be operated in coordination with the CPU sinks 50 with a variety ofspecifications, sizes, dimensions and locations.

Please refer to FIG. 6. A tenon and a through groove are not facilitatedin the upper plate 71 of a second preferred embodiment according to thepresent invention. A reusable twin adhesive 711 is applied between theupper plate 71 and the front plate 61 to stick them together. Twoconnecting plate are respectively combined with the reusable twinadhesive 64 and bonded to the two flank sides without two long groves ofthe housing 44 of the power supply. The two side plates 62 and 63 andthe upper plate 71 are covered at the two flank sides and the upper sideof the CPU heat sink 80. The lower end of the CPU heat sink 80 isconnected to the upper end of a motherboard 81. The lower end of themotherboard 81 is connected to the upper end of a bottom plate 82 of thecomputer mainframe. The housing 44 of the power supply is connected tothe flank side of a side plate 83 of the housing of the computermainframe.

Please refer to FIGS. 7 and 8. The figures show an airflow guide of athird preferred embodiment according to the present invention. A masterplate 90 is made by cutting a thin plate and has a plurality of bendablelines 91, 92, 93, 94 and 95. A upper plate 96, front end 961 of theupper plate 96, two side plates 97 and 98, and two connecting plates 971and 981 can be differentiated and bent out along the bendable lines. Thetwo side plates 97 and 98 can be bent at the two flank sides of theupper plate 96 shown as FIG. 8. The connecting plates 971 and 981 arerespectively bent at the front ends of the side plates 97 and 98. Thefront end 961 of the upper plate 96 and the connecting plates 971 and981 can respectively be connected to a housing of a power supply toallow the airflow guide to be combined with the power supply.

Please refer to FIG. 9. The figure shows an airflow guide of a fourthpreferred embodiment according to the present invention. A master plate84 is made by cutting a thin plate and has a plurality of bendable lines841, 842, 843 and 844. A upper plate 85, front end 851 of the upperplate 85, two side plates 86 and 87, and two connecting plates 871 (oneof them is not shown in the figure). Two side plates 86 and 87 are bentat the two flank sides of the upper plate 85 to form a cover body. Thetwo connecting plates 871 are respectively bent at the front ends of thetwo side plates 86 and 87. The front end 851 of the upper plate 85 andthe two connecting plates 871 can respectively be connected to a housingof a power supply to allow the airflow guide to be combined with thehousing of the power supply. A characteristic of the embodiment is toallow at least one curved bendable line 841 in the master plate 84 tohave a plurality of small holes 845 so that it can be bent a neededcurve along the small holes 845 to cause the two flank sides of theairflow guide to match with the shapes of electronic components at thetwo sides to perform a necessary curved deformation. Besides, at leastone hole 852 is disposed in the upper plate 85 for a projecting columnat the upper end of a cooler 88 of a CPU to be passed through. The partof the projecting column passed out the hole 852 is connected to afixing element 89 to allow the upper plate 85 to be connected to theupper end of the cooler 88 of the CPU. The fixing element 89 can be ascrew nut or a pressing rubber sleeve.

Please refer to FIG. 6 again. Another use manner according to thepresent invention is to bend the front end of the front plate 61 upward.The front plate 61 along with the two connecting plates can be bondeddirectly onto the side plate 83 of the housing or side plates ofhousings of other elements by using reusable twin adhesive to allow theairflow guide to be assembled at the flank side of the side plates.

The master plate, the secondary plate and the two reinforced plates canbe made through template cutting. Materials of theirs can be a metalthin plate, paper plate or plastic thin plate, such as a thin plate madefrom polypropylene, preferably a plate with fireproof, heat resistant,antimagnetic and anti-static electric function. The manufacturing of thetemplate used in cutting is cheaper and faster; a production cost can bereduced. Each component is lighter owing to its thin plate type; all thecomponents can be stacked together when they are not assembled to be athree-dimensional cover body. Therefore, they occupy less space and areconvenient in transportation and storage.

Please refer to FIG. 10. A manufacturing method of an airflow guideaccording to the present invention comprises the following steps:

Cutting at least one thin plate to form needed shapes of plate bodies bycutting molds and forming a plurality of bendable lines in at least oneof the plate bodies;

Bending at least one of the plate bodies along the bendable lines toallow at least one of the plate bodies to be formed into a cover body;and

Passing a projecting column at the upper end of a cooler of a CPUthrough a hole in a upper plate of the plate body and combining the partof the column passed out of the hole with a fixing element.

The components of an airflow guide according to the present inventionare cut by molds in a factory to form thin plates in each of which has aplurality of bendable lines and transported into a mainframe assemblyplant to store therein. Each component of the airflow guide is foldedinto a three-dimensional type at a production line when a mainframewants to be assembled. Because each component of the airflow guide is athin plate and lighter in weight, it can be stacked together withanother component before a three-dimensional cover body is assembled.Therefore, the space is saved and the transportation and storage aremore convenient.

It is noted that the airflow guide structure described above is thepreferred embodiment of the present invention for the purpose ofillustration only, and are not intended as a definition of the limitsand scope of the invention disclosed. Any modifications and variationsthat may be apparent to a person skilled in the art are intended to beincluded within the scope of the present invention.

1. An airflow guide structure, being connected to a flank side of anexhaust exit of a housing of an electronic product and used for guidingheat out of said housing, comprising a thin plate type of master plateand a thin plate type of secondary plate; said master plate having aplurality of bendable lines to mark off said master plate to a frontplate and two side plates; thereby, when said master plate and saidsecondary plate are assembled, said two side plates being allowed tobend to the two flank sides of said front plate and being extended tothe lower sides of the flank sides of said front plate; and the frontend of said secondary plate being allowed to connect to the upper sideof said front plate and being covered on said two side plates to form acover body.
 2. The airflow guide structure according to claim 1, whereinsaid bendable lines between said front plate and said two side platesare inclined respectively toward the inner side of said front plate soas to allow distances between said two side plates to form a type widerat the front and shorter at the rear after said two side plates arebent.
 3. The airflow guide structure according to claim 1, wherein saidsecondary plate has a plurality of bendable lines to mark off saidsecondary plate into a upper plate and two fender plates so that saidtwo fender plates are respectively bent downward from the flank sides ofsaid upper plate.
 4. The airflow guide structure according to claim 1,wherein said front plate has another bendable line so as to allow thefront end of said front plate to be bent upward or downward.
 5. Theairflow guide structure according to claim 1, further comprising tworeinforced plates and two cutting lines passed through said plate bodybeing disposed in each said side plate; two ends of said two reinforcedplates being respectively passed through said two cutting lines in saidtwo side plates and respectively connected to the middles of said twoside plate to increase the strength of said two side plates.
 6. Theairflow guide structure according to claim 3, wherein said front platehas a cutting line penetrated through the plate body thereof; the middleplace of the front end of said upper plate has a tenon; said tenon ispassed through said cutting line to buckle with said front plate.
 7. Theairflow guide structure according to claim 3, wherein the rear end ofsaid upper plate has a through groove.
 8. The airflow guide structureaccording to claim 4, wherein said master plate has two connectingplates; said two connecting plates are respectively bent to the frontend of said two side plates.
 9. The airflow guide structure according toclaim 5, wherein said master plate, the secondary plate and said tworeinforced plate are thin plates made from metal, paper, plastic orpolypropylene.
 10. The airflow guide structure according to claim 8,wherein the front end of said front plate and said two connecting platesare respectively combined with a twin adhesive.
 11. An airflow guidestructure, being connected to a flank side of an exhaust exit of ahousing of an electronic product and used for guiding heat out of saidhousing, comprising a master plate; a plurality of bendable lines beingdisposed in said master plate, said bendable lines marking off saidmaster plate into a upper plate, two side plates and two connectingplates; thereby, when said master plate is assembled into an airflowguide, said two side plates being allowed to bend to the two flank sidesof said upper plate to form a cover body; and said two connecting platesbeing allowed to bend respectively at the front ends of said tow sideplates.
 12. The airflow guide structure according to claim 11, wherein abendable front end is disposed in said upper plate.
 13. The airflowguide structure according to claim 11, wherein at least one curvedbendable line is among said bendable lines; said curved bendable linecomprises a plurality of small holes so that said master plate is bentinto a curved line along said small holes.
 14. The airflow guidestructure according to claim 13, wherein at least one hole is disposedin said upper plate so as to allow a projecting column at the upper endof a cooler of a central processing unit to be passed through said holeand the part of said projecting column passed out of said hole isallowed to connected with a fixing element to cause said upper plate toconnect to the upper end of said cooler of said CPU.
 15. The airflowguide structure according to claim 14, wherein said fixing element is arubber sleeve.
 16. A manufacturing method for an airflow guide,comprising the following steps: cutting at least one thin plate to formneeded shapes of plate bodies by cutting molds and forming a pluralityof bendable lines in at least one of the plate bodies; and bending atleast one of the plate bodies along the bendable lines to allow at leastone of the plate bodies to be formed into a cover body; wherein saidcover body is connected to the flank side of an exhaust exit of ahousing of an electronic product to guide heat to be expelled out ofsaid housing.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said platebody comprises a master plate and secondary plate; said master plate hasa plurality of bendable lines to mark off said master plate into a frontplate and two side plates; thereby, said two side plates are allowed tobend to the two flank sides of said front plate and are extended to thelower sides of the two flank sides of said front plate; and the frontend of said secondary plate is allowed to connect to the upper side ofsaid front plate and covered on said two side plates.
 18. The methodaccording to claim 16, wherein said bendable lines in said plate bodymark off said plate body into a upper plate, two side plates and twoconnecting plates; said two side plates are bent at the two flank sidesof said upper plate, said connecting plates are respectively bent at thefront ends of said two side plates.
 19. The method according to claim17, wherein a plurality of bendable lines are disposed in said secondaryplate, said bendable lines mark off said secondary plate into a upperplate and two fender plates to allow said two fender plates to berespectively bent downward from the two flank sides of said upper plate.20. The method according to claim 18, wherein at least one curvedbendable line is among said bendable lines; said curved bendable linecomprises a plurality of small holes so that said master plate is bentinto a curved line along said small holes.